Thread: Great racing cars from the past

Lotus 11

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

KK was "Kurtis Kraft", 500 was a car built for the Indianapolis 500, and the A,B,C,. etc. indicated year of build, and another number after the year letter was the Serial No. as in KK500C-3. Bob's 500H does not have a serial no. as it was the only 500H. Wally Meskowsky and Quinn Epperley were other prominent car builders of the era.

Phil Reilly has a Quinn Epperley Bowes Seal Fast Special. Phil was fortunate to have an 83 y.o. Quinn still around and eager to do the restoration. Phil's business is high end restoration and preparation of historic race cars. Even so, he was happy to have the original builder do the job.

I have a photo somewhere of the Cummins Special but can't find it. It had a gigantic front of engine Roots blower.

Here is a KK500S. The S stands for sports car. Basically a widened roadgoing version of the first Indy Roadster, the KK500A driven by Bill Vukovich to two victories in the 500. Production numbers are unknown as the records were lost. Some left the factory as finished vehicles and some as kits to be completed by the purchaser. They had considerable competition use and carried a variety of engines. Arlen Kurtis will still build you one. He had one well advanced and another chassis in progress when I last visited him in 2011.

Attached are photos of one he had in for a freshen up. It is only a few years old and was for sale, $140,000. One fetched that at the Amelia Island Auction in early 2011. Chev. small block 435 hp and weighs about a ton. I was taken for a drive around Bakersfield. Goes like hell and handles like a race car which is what they were designed as.

Looks as nice as the Cobra

Looks like the bastard son of a Cobra and a Lotus 7.

Originally Posted by VladTepes

Looks like the bastard son of a Cobra and a Lotus 7.

More like their father. First one built about 1953. Well before Cobras and Loti.

Comment is often made about the "ugly" grille. The grille bars are actually structural members. The front suspension loads go into the two hoops in the chassis photo and the vertical bars are strengtheners.